Page 8 of Why Broken Wings Fray

I had never been a violent person. Not a single second of my life had I felt any desire to be violent. But then, and there, hearing Brian speak so freely of killing Raegan – my hand gripped to the scalpel with such strength that I felt it slice into my flesh. My anger numbed it, the only evidence of the wound being the slow trickle of blood across my palm.

“Calm down,” Rory sighed, watching my face contort.

I closed my eyes for a moment, if only to see the faint green reflection of Raegan’s against my eyelids.

“To appeal to the gods requires a certain ritual. It was performed once, then never again, deep within the castle of Cluaineach. According to the tale, it was recorded and stored away.”

“In the castle?” I cocked a brow.

“In…” Rory’s face squeezed. “In the King’s chambers.”

“You… You want someone to go into the King’s chambers?” It was a question, yet I laughed as I said it.

“It’s that,” Brian growled, “or the King dies.”

I swung so quickly in his direction that I didn’t have the time to register what I was doing. But that scalpel was out, thoroughly gripped in my blood-soaked hand, and on its way to Brian’s chest only to be interrupted by Rory.

“Listen to me, Olivia. If we can’t get that document, we won’t have an alternative anymore. I will have to accept that the only solution will be Raegan’s death.”

He was lucky he was capable of speaking with such a soft voice, because yet again my chest shook with the thought. But I said nothing, only stared at him.

It was Brian who dared to fill the silence. “We will give this one shot. But the King will see right through this ploy, our spy will be killed, and we will be forced to default to our only true option.”

“Not helpful, Brian,” Rory hissed.

They’re going to kill Raegan.

“You need a spy,” I repeated. “You need someone who can get close enough to the King’s chambers to locate the document,” I echoed. “And you need it to work on the first try.”

They both narrowed their eyes at me.

“Then you need to send me.”

Rory’s ears pulled back as creases formed against his eyes. But he did not say no. Instead, he said, “The risk is great. And Raegan… Raegan isn’t the male you once knew. He has changed.”

I shook my head a few times. “I can do it, Rory. I can get the ritual that you need. I might even be able to convince him to cooperate. But even if I can’t – you will get the ritual, and you will spare his life. Right?”

Rory and Brian shared a look, then turned back at me and nodded as one.

“Then I will do it.”

~

Preparations started.

The whole time, I sat in the corner of that dusty, mouldy cellar and watched as pixies flicked from miniature to human-sized, bustling in and out of the cellar with various things.

After about an hour, finding myself in the most awkward position to be had on a stool, Rory approached the dark corner.

“Here.” He smiled at me, sliding a mug of something in my direction. “It’s a medicine of sorts – helps with keeping you little for extended amounts of time.”

I frowned down at it, the somewhat pink hue of the liquid and the overwhelming smell of cherries. “It looks disgusting.”

Rory chuckled as he winked at me, watching as I placed my lips to the cup and drank.

“It is likely that he will make you swear an oath once you arrive. Like I said, he’s not who he was before – he is paranoid. He will make you swear an oath, Olivia, and I need you to listen to me and understand.”

Finishing slurping the pink concoction of what definitely did not taste like cherries, I nodded at Rory.